


The First Fight

by Milky_Way_789



Category: Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
Genre: Couple Fight, F/M, Face Slapping, Fluff and Angst, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, I wrote this a while ago, Posting it now because..., Tears, This is my first time posting any of my writing, Why the heck not?, hope you guys like it, kinda nervous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:20:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24819805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milky_Way_789/pseuds/Milky_Way_789
Summary: Holly and Artemis are a new couple coming out of many traumatic experiences together. Just like all couples, they fight. But when their first real fight turns more serious than most, will their relationship survive?
Relationships: Artemis Fowl II/Holly Short
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

[Holly]

Holly stumbled through the darkness to find the place that she called home. Her eyes stung from crying and her heart stung from a mix of emotions it was not prepared for; sadness, doubt, guilt, confusion, betrayal, and anger. So much anger. She wasn’t used to feeling this angry, and she didn’t like it. She generally tried to be a pretty calm faerie, although she wasn’t positive about how she was doing on that. She did get a little mad sometimes, but this was more than a little disagreement that left you feeling sour, this was an actual fight. Her first with Artemis since they had become a “couple”. Were they even a couple? Holly had no idea what to call her relationship with Artemis, but what she did know was that she loved him. Even through her anger, she still loved him, and that made it even harder to bear.   
She punched in the code to open her front door and walked inside. The automatic lights flickered on, but Holly barely noticed. She proceeded straight to her room and flopped down on her mattress. As she stared at the ceiling, memories of Artemis floated past like clouds on the wind. The first time she and Artemis met. Seeing him change for the better. Slowly realizing she had feelings for him that were not platonic. Their first kiss. The first time they said “I love you” to each other. The first time he called her his girlfriend. And then finally, the fight.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“You just got discharged from the hospital,” Said Artemis as he paced back and forth.   
Holly’s eyes followed Artemis around the room. Leaning back in her armchair she was sitting in, she replied, “I know. They kept me longer than they needed to. That was my healing and recuperation time. Now, I’m out, and I don’t even have a request to take it easy,”  
“You just almost died again. And again. And again. And again. When can this cycle end, Holly?”   
“Artemis. I know that you’re worried about me, but we both knew the risks of me having this job. And now we’re dealing with them,”   
Artemis stopped pacing and looked at Holly. “Why do you want this mission so badly?”   
“Because, I was cooped up for months before the India Incident and then I was cooped up in the hospital. I just want to get out and do something,”   
“Your idea of “doing something” always seems to end with you getting hurt! Maybe it’s a good idea if you stay underground for right now!”  
Holly blinked. Artemis never yelled. Never. He raised his voice, oh yes, but he had never yelled at her before.   
What is happening?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Holly was jerked back to the present by the vibrating of her phone. It was Artemis calling. She pressed her finger on the decline button. She didn’t feel like being lectured or having her intelligence insulted at the moment. She saw that she had several texts from him as well, and although she read them, she didn’t respond.   
**Holly, I’m sorry.**  
 **I was a jerk.**  
 **Please come back, we can talk about this**.   
She set her phone back down. I’ll bet he asked his father what he should say. She went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. After drying her face off with a towel, she went back to her room only to find more texts from Artemis.   
**Please Holly, I’m sorry.**  
 **I didn’t mean what I did.**  
 **_Then why did you do it?_**  
 **I wasn’t thinking.**  
 **_Obviously._**  
She set her phone on silent and put it back on the nightstand. She changed into something more comfortable, locked the door, and made a smoothie. Then, she sat back down on her bed. I wonder what Artemis is doing right now besides trying to get in contact with me. I wonder if he really feels remorse or if he’s just saying that to mend the relationship. I wonder…..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Once again, Holly was jerked from her train of thought by the vibrating of her phone. It wasn’t Artemis as she expected, but his dad. After hesitating for a while, she pressed the accept button.   
“I know what you’re going to say, and I’m sorry, but I don’t want to hear it,”   
“Holly, please. Talk to Artemis. He feels really bad, I’ve never seen him so upset before,”   
“Exactly. As he’s said before, he “perfectly portrays emotion”. What is he’s just faking?”   
There was a long silence on the other side of the line. “Holly, please,”  
“I’m sorry,” she said, and hung up the phone. Tears once again began to make their way down her face, and she didn’t bother to try to stop them. One day they might make up, but even she wasn’t going to forgive him that easily.   
She sat there for a good hour, just crying into her hands. Then, she laid back down and resumed her stare at the ceiling. 

For a while, her thoughts swirled like soup around her brain, and it was hard to string words together. It was just meaningless mush. She tried to distract herself, tried to think of something, anything else, but eventually her thoughts all led back to him. Artemis Fowl Ⅱ. A human with whom she had fallen in love. Now, she wasn’t sure if she made the right choice. 

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

[Artemis] 

“Why must you always injure yourself?! I worry about you enough without you going out of your way to get hurt!” He was yelling. He never yelled. He could see shock and confusion in Holly’s eyes, which was quickly replaced with defiance.   
“I’m not going out of my way to get hurt. If you “can’t take” the worry that comes with me having this job, I’m sorry. But I’m not going to quit and put others in danger because of you!”  
Don’t take the bait. You started this so it’s only natural for her to respond like this, but don’t continue it. Respond calmly and continue this discussion civilly.   
“I’m not asking you to quit! I’m asking you to think of more than your job for once!” Well, there goes that idea. Now it’s too late.   
“And what else would I be thinking about?!”   
“Me! I care about you in case you hadn’t noticed!” How ironic that I am yelling aggressively that I care about her. Of course, it’s true, but still.   
“Oh, and because you’re so all-important! The great Artemis Fowl Ⅱ. So, of course, your majesty, I shall put aside the entire Haven Community for you. Shall I bow, or will a curtsy do?  
She’s beautiful when she’s mad. Even when it’s at me.   
“There’s no need for sarcasm, Holly,”   
“You filthy hypocrite,” Was her response. 

This went on for a while, back and forth. It was all completely pointless, Artemis knew, but his anger clouded his judgement. It got to the point where he forgot what even started the argument, all he could think about was his anger at Holly. It wasn’t even attached to a reason anymore it was just pure anger. His mind was so fogged with the whole ordeal that he wasn’t thinking about what he was doing. He didn’t think about the consequences of his actions until after his hand had connected with her face. 


	2. Chapter 2

“A-Artemis?” She said, her eyes filling with tears, stunned at what he has just done. 

Artemis tried to form words but couldn’t. He had slapped her.  _ How could I have done that? _

He forced himself to meet her eyes. They were filled with tears, confusion, and disappointment. He felt so much disgust with himself, he couldn’t speak. And before he got the chance to, she had turned and ran out of the manor. 

“Holly! Wait!” He called out into the rain after her, but it was no use. She had already been swallowed by the darkness outside. 

He tried to run after her, but unfortunately, the wet sidewalk had made up its mind to further humiliate him. As his face slammed into the hard cement, the only thought his brain managed to hold onto was,  _ I hit her. I hit her. I hit her.  _

Stars exploded in front of his eyes as he tried to stand back up, and he fell back down to the ground with a grunt. Finally, he managed to get on his feet and stumble back inside the manor. 

Something very unfamiliar was happening to him. He could feel the tears forming in his eyes.  _ Me? Crying?  _ Before he met Holly, he would have never believed this possible, yet here he was. He had hit her. Physically hurt her. 

He buried his head in his hands and sobbed. He wasn’t sure who he was anymore. Holly had always told him he was capable of being a good person. He had reassured him that he was good when he was doubtful and had even forgiven him when he was at his darkest. And how had he repaid her for all her kindness? By shouting at her and hitting her. 

He heard someone entering the room, it was his father. “Artemis?” He said, obviously confused, “I heard shouting…,” He saw Artemis’s face,” What’s wrong?” 

Artemis couldn’t bring himself to speak, so he just let his head drop onto his knees, tears soaking his clothes even more than they already were. 

His father knelt beside him and pulled him onto his lap. Ordinarily, Artemis would have pulled out of the hug his father wrapped him in, but this time he didn’t. And although he would have preferred it to be Holly, it was comforting all the same. 

They sat like that for a while, Artemis crying with his father holding him until Artemis finally pulled himself together. 

His father’s soft voice eventually pierced the silence that had fallen. 

“Artemis? I’ve never seen you this upset, what’s wrong?” 

Artemis hesitated, then poured out the entire story. However, when he got to the place where he hit her, he faltered and stopped. His father wasn’t fooled though and pressed Artemis until he finally gave in. His father listened intently as Artemis explained, and when he finally finished he remained silent.  _ This is one of the times I wish I could read his mind. I can’t read anything from his expression!  _ After what seemed like an eternity, he finally spoke. 

“Artemis, I understand. Anger is a very powerful emotion, and it often clouds judgment. I know you didn’t mean it, you’re obviously feeling really bad about it right now,” 

“T-Thank you,” and after hesitating a bit, “Dad,” 

Artemis Fowl Ⅰ smiled, “Now, you need to reach out to Holly,” 

His shoulders sank. “She’s not going to answer,” he said. 

“I know. But she’ll know you tried. If you don’t at least  _ try _ to reach out she’ll think you don’t care,” 

Artemis nodded. His father was right, as usual. 

He pulled out his phone and dialed Holly’s number. It rang a few times, but as expected she didn’t pick up. He tried texting her a few times, and even got a response, although it was cold. Her response brought even more tears to his eyes. Even his father tried talking to Holly, and although she picked up, they had a pretty brief conversation that didn’t seem to help. This was hopeless.  _ What if she never forgives me? I don’t think I could live with myself….. but it’s her choice. I want to make it right… but I don’t know how.  _

His train of thought was interrupted by his father’s voice, “She’ll come around. She feels as bad as you do, I can tell. It’ll work out, you both just need some time to think and calm down. 

_ Right again. _ And then, a thought struck him.  _ I only have my father healthy because of Holly. I only have my mother sane because of Holly. It’s Holly’s fault that the people I love are still alive… including her.  _


	3. Chapter 3

[Holly]

Holly sat up suddenly. She hadn’t realized she had fallen asleep! She quickly checked the time, 3 AM.  _ Good, it’s not morning yet. Wait, do I have a shift tomorrow? I got so caught up in our argument that I forgot?!  _

__ She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and grabbed her phone from the nightstand. She had more texts and missed calls from Artemis, but she ignored these and clicked on Trouble’s contact. 

_**Hey, you awake?** _

**Yeah, paperwork. Why are you up so late?**

_**Nevermind that, do you know** _

_**if I have a shift tomorrow?** _

**No, I don’t think you do. But it’s not like you to forget your shifts, what’s up?**

Holly rolled her eyes, but it wasn’t like she hadn’t been expecting this. Trouble always seems to know when something was wrong. And so did Artemis… 

_**Well, Artemis and I got in a fight.** _

**Oh, I’m so sorry. Do you feel like talking about it?**

_**Not really.** _

**Well, let me know if you change your mind, I’m here for you.**

_**Thanks, Trouble.** _

She set her phone back down.  _ Well, if I don’t have a shift….. I might as well get some more sleep.  _ She was just about to fall back onto her pillows to get said sleep when her phone vibrated. Thinking it was Trouble, she picked it up and looked at it. Turns out, it wasn’t Trouble, but Artemis calling.  _ At 3 AM, Artemis, seriously?  _

But for some reason, she found herself pushing the accept button. 

“Artemis,” she said, unable to keep the coldness out of her voice as she spoke through the phone. 

“Holly?! I didn’t expect you to pick up! I am so, so, so, sorry about everything,”

Holly was surprised. Not unpleasantly so, but Artemis usually chose his words so carefully that the fact that he sounded informal must mean that he really meant it. Right? That, or he was just messing with her even more, but that didn’t sound like Artemis. To be fair neither did slapping her. 

“Mmmmmmhmmmm,” She said, not actually saying any words. She didn’t know what she should say. And then, Artemis just sort of broke. 

“P-please H-Holly,” he sobbed, “I-I’m not a-asking y-you t-to f-forgive m-me, j-just p-please l-let m-me t-talk to y-you,” 

Her heart softened. She was about to say something when Artemis interrupted, “I-I’m outside y-your d-door,” 

_ I should’ve seen that coming.  _ She hung up the phone, walked to the front door, and opened it. 


	4. Chapter 4

Artemis was standing on her doorstep, his eyes red and puffy, shivering in a soaking wet suit. He looked so guilty and so sad, she forgave him immediately and pulled him into the hug. They both just stood there hugging each other, both crying.

Finally, Holly stopped crying enough to pull him fully inside and shut the door.

“Holly I-” Artemis started, obviously going to apologize, but Holly cut him off.

“I love you,” She said simply, “I love you and I forgive you. Everybody does stupid stuff sometimes. The only person who’s going to beat you up about it is yourself, and I don’t want you to do that,”

Artemis nodded, swallowing hard. She hugged him again, and they sank to the floor, arms still around each other. Holly leaned her head on Artemis’s shoulder and Artemis stroked her hair. Neither of them spoke, but unspoken agreements seemed to pass between them.

It was comfortable, sitting there with Artemis, and was probably the safest he ever felt. “Artemis,” she said finally, breaking the silence, "I’m not going to take the mission,” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

[Artemis]

 _What?! She’s not going to take the mission?! But she seemed so set on it before…. Oh no, this is all my fault. She’s not doing it just to make me happy._ “No, it’s okay, you can take it,” He said quickly.

“No Artemis, it’s not. I have too much on my plate already,” She grinned, “Besides, I can’t do all of them. I’ll let someone else have some glory for once,”

They laughed together, and for a precious minute it was like nothing happened at all. “Are you sure?” He asked, “I don’t want to influence your decision making,”

“Positive,” She said, kissing him, “Now, you should probably change clothes, you look cold,”

Artemis hadn’t noticed he was shivering until she mentioned it. “Right, that would be nice,” He replied.

“Oh, after that ceremony thing you left your other suit here,” She said, standing up and opening a cabinet, “I washed it and was meaning to give it to you but I kept forgetting,”

He smiled and took the suit from her, “Thank you,” He left to go and change.

When he was done changing, he walked back into the living room to find Holly asleep on the couch. _Well it is three in the morning……. She must be tired._ He picked her up and carried her to her room. Holly stirred in his arms, and started to open her eyes.

He set Holly down on her bed, “You should probably get some sleep, it’s 3 AM,”

“Okay, but you should too. Is it still raining on the surface?”

“Yeah, it’s pouring harder than I’ve ever seen it,”

“Well you could spend the night here if you don’t want to get soaking wet again,”

“Thanks,”

She smiled and pulled him down next to her. Artemis felt himself turning red. He fell back onto the pillows They laid there for a while in silence, and he rolled over on his side to face her. Holly was laying on her back, with her eyes closed.

“Hey, Holly?” He asked suddenly.

“Yeah, Artemis?” She said, not opening her eyes.

“I know you said it was okay, but I just wanted to say I’m so sorry. For everything. I-I-I don’t have the right words to express how sorry I am. You’re the greatest person I’ve ever met, and I owe.. everything to you. I just-”

Holly interrupted his little speech by kissing him again. When they finally broke apart, Holly placed her hand on his cheek and said, “Artemis. I know you would never hurt me on purpose. Couples fight, it’s normal. This was our first but by no means is it our last. People do stupid things when their angry, I’ve done some stuff I’m not so proud of when I’m angry. Anyway, what I’m trying to say here is that you are an amazing person, I’m so much better with you in my life than out of it, and I love you,”

Artemis looked into Holly’s mismatched eyes, “I love you too,”

Holly met his gaze, “Artemis, I don’t want you to feel bad about this okay? I don’t have any harsh feelings towards you, and I don’t want you to either,”

He nodded. It wasn’t going to be as easy as Holly made it sound, but the least he could do for her was try.

Holly leaned back onto his shoulder and closed her eyes again. Artemis resumed his stroking of her hair. After a while, he felt her breathing even out and he knew she was asleep. “Sleep well, Holly,” He whispered, kissing her forehead. Before long, he was asleep as well.

THE END 


End file.
